Three IT automation use cases
Automation can be used to streamline ITSM in various ways. Three example use cases are:
1. Zero-touch tickets
In some cases, ITSM processes can be fully automated and tickets can be resolved without human intervention. This means triggering an automation like a Celonis Action Flow, or a workflow built in a process automation tool like ServiceNow. Let’s look at an example. A password reset is a routine task for IT helpdesks but it can take a surprising amount of time to resolve. By triggering a workflow automation instead, the user can be authenticated and the password can be reset without an agent having to get involved.
2. Automated routing
Allocating ITSM tickets to the right team to fix an issue is a time consuming task.When tickets are routed to the wrong team, it can take hours or even days for them to be reallocated, even if the ticket is then resolved fairly quickly.
A printer issue is a common example of a task where an on-site technician may be required, meaning the ticket must be routed to a local team. On the other hand, issues with third-party applications or cloud computing may need routing to specialized teams with experience in those areas.
Workload automation, which helps to manage and automate IT tasks across different systems and platforms, can categorize the issue using technologies like machine learning, as well as generative AI that can use free text as input. It can then assign the ticket to the right resolution group, minimizing the time it takes to fix the issue or provide the service.
3. Closing tickets
Once an issue or service request has been resolved, the ticket needs to be closed. ITSM automation can be used to close tickets once they’ve met specific criteria – for example, if there has been no further communication around the ticket for a set number of hours post resolution. In the case of an incident, generating a report for post-incident analysis can also be an automated process.